1. What Is a Screenplay?
- A screenplay is a story told with pictures, in dialogue and description, and places within the context of dramatic structure. p8
- A screenplay is like a noun–it’s about a person…The person is the character, and doing his or her thing is the action. p8
- A story is a whole, and the parts that make it–the action, characters, scenes, sequences, Acts I, II, III, incidents, episodes, events, music, locations, etc.—are what make up the story. It is a whole. p9
- Structure is what holds the story in place. p9
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| beginning | | middle | | end |
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| Act 1 | | Act 2 | | Act 3 |
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+----------------+ +----------------------+ +---------------+
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| setup | | confrontation | | resolution |
| p 1-30 | | p30-90 | | p 90-120 |
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+----------------+ +----------------------+ +---------------+
+---------------+ +---------------+
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| Plot Point 1 | | Plot Point 2 |
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- …generally speaking, a page of screenplay equals a minute of screen time. p10
- Act I, the beginning, is a unit of dramatic action that is approximately thirty pages long and is held together with the dramatic context known as the setup. p10
- The screenwriter has approximately thirty pages to setup the story, the characters, the dramatic premise, the situation (the circumstances surrounding the action) and to establish the relationships between the main character and the other people who inhabit the landscape of his or her world. p10
- The first ten pages of the dramatic action is the most important part of the screenplay because you have to show the reader who your main character is, what the dramatic premise of the story (what it’s about) is, and what the dramatic situation (the circumstances surrounding the action) is. p10
- Act II is a unit of dramatic action that is approximately sixty pages long, goes from page 30 to 90, and is held together with the dramatic context known as confrontation. During the secont act the main character encounters obstacle after obstacle after obstacle that keeps him from achieving his or her dramatic need. p11
- If you know the character’s dramatic need, you can create obstacles to that need. p12
- All drama is conflict. Without conflict you have no character; without character, you have no action, you have no story; and without story, you have no screenplay. p12
- Act III is a unit of dramatic action that fors from the end of Act II, is approximately page 90, to the end of the screenplay and is held together with the dramatic context know as resolution. Resolution does not mean ending; resolution means solution. p12
- Beginning, middle and end; Act I, II, III. Setup, confrontation, resolution–the parts that make up the whole. p12
- …how do you get from Act I, the setup, into Act II, the confrontation? And how do you get from Act II into Act III, the resolution? The answer is simple: Create a plot point at the end of Act I and Act II. A plot point is any incident, episode, or event that “hooks” into the action and spins it around into another direction–in this case, Act II and Act III. p13
- The paradigm is a form, not a formula; it’s what hold the story together p14
2. The Subject
- When we talk about the subject of a screenplay, we talk about action and character. Action is what happens; character is who it happens to. Every screenplay dramatizes action and character. p18
- When you can express your idea succinctly in terms of action and character, when you can express it like a noun–my story is about this person, in this place, doing his/her “thing”–you’re beginning the preparation of your screenplay. The next step is expanding your subject. Fleshing out the action and focusing on the character broadens the story line and accentuates the details. Gather your material any way you can. It will always be to your advantate. p20
- Remember: The more you know, the more you can communicate. And be in a position of choice and responsibility when making creative decisions. p21
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+--------+ SUBJECT +--------+
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+-------v-------+ +-------v-------+
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+---+ action +--+ +---+ character +---+
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| +---------------+ | | +---------------+ |
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+---v----+ +----v----++----v----------+ +----------v--------+
|physical| |emotional||define the need| |action is character|
+--------+ +---------++---------------+ +-------------------+
- Ask yourself what kind of story you are writing. It is an outdoor action-adventure movie, or is it a story about a relationship, and emotional story? p23
- First, define the need of your character. What does your character want? What is his need? What drives him to the resolution of your story? p24
- The story always has to move forward, toward its resolution. p24
- Without conflict there is no drama. Without need, there is no character. Without character, there is no action. p25
3. Character
- Character is the essential foundation of yout screenplay. It is the heart and soul and nervoud system of your story. Before you put a word on paper, you must know your character. p26
- First, establish your main character. Then separate the components of his/her life into two basic categories, interiot and exterior. The interior life of your character takes places from birth until the moment your film begins. It is a process that forms character. The exterior life of your character takes place from the moment your film begins to the conclusion of the story. It is a process that reveals character. p27
- All dramatic characters interact in 3 ways
- They all experience conflict in achieving their dramatic need.
- They interact with other characters
- They interact with themselves
- How do you make characters real, multidimensional people?
- First, separate your character’s life into three basic components–professional, personal and private. p29
- Action is character
4. Building a Character
- First create the context of character. Then fill the context with content. Context and content. These are abstract principles that offer you an invaluable tool in the creative process. p34
- First define the NEED of your character–what is the NEED of your character? p35
- **CHARCTER IS A POINT OF VIEW–it is the way we look at the world. It is a context. p36
- Create the context, and the content follows. p37
- Character is also an ATTITUDE–a context–a way of acting or feeling that reveals a person’s opinion. p37
- Define youe character’s needs, then create obstacles to that need. The more oyu know about your characer the easier it is to create dimension within the fabric of your story. p38
- Character is PERSONALITY. Every character visually manifests a personality. p38
- Character is also BEHAVIOR. The essence of character is action–what a person does is what he is. p39
- Character is also what I term REVELATION. During the story we learn something about your character. p40
- IDENTIFICATION is also an aspect of character. The recognition factir of “I know someone like that” is the greatest compliment a writer can receive. p41
- All the above-mentioned character traits–point of view, personality, attitude, and behavior–are related and will overlap each other during the process of building your character. This puts you in a position of choice: you can choose to use some, or all, of these character traits, or none of them. Knowing what they are, though, expance your command of the process of building a character. p41
5. Creating a Character
- There are two ways to approach a screenplay. p44
- You create the characters to fit the ideas. p44
- The other way you approach a screenplay is by creating a character; out of that character will emerge a need, an action, and a story. p44
- The questions go from the general to the specific, from context to content. p45
- From now on, through a process of trial and error, we’re going to be searching for a theme, or a dramatic premise; something that will move Sarah into a particular direction to generate a dramatic action. The SUBJECT of a screenplay, remember, is action and character. We’ve got the character, now we’ve got to find the action. p51
- …an exciting, topical story issue: the “hook” or “gimmick” of our story line. p54
- This becomes our story’s “hook” or dramatic premise. p54
6. Endings and Beginnings
- Remember the definition of screenplay structure: “a linear progression of related incidents, episodes, and events leading to a dramatic resolution.” p60
- So–what’s the best way to open your screenplay? KNOW YOUR ENDING! p60
- When you see a well-made film, you’ll find a strong and directly stated ending, a definite resolution. p62
- The resolution must be clear in your mind before you write one word on paper; it is a context, it holds the ending in place. p65
- Endings and beginnings are related, and the principle can be applied to the screenplay. p66
- When you know your ending you can effectively choose your opening. p68
- The first ten pages of your screenplay are absolutely the most crucial. p70
- You’ve got ten pages to establish three things:
- who is your main character?
- what is the dramatic premise–that is, what’s your story about?
- what is the dramatic situation of your screenplay–the dramatic circumstances surrounding your story?
7. The Setup
- The reader must know who the main character is, what the dramatic premise is, that is, what it’s about, and, the dramatic situation–the circumstances surrounding the action. p73
- These three elements must be introduced withint the first ten pages… p73
- It is the question that propels the story to its final resolution and it is all set up from the very beginning, in the first ten pages, and moves in a linear direction to the end. p94
8. The Sequence
- The screenplay, as “system,” is made up of endings, beginnings, plot points, shots and effects, scenes, and sequences. Together, unified by the dramatic thrust of action and character, the story elements are “arranged” in a particular way and then revealed visually to create the totality know as “the screenplay.” A Story told with pictures. p96
- As far as I’m concerned, the sequence is the most important element of the screenplay. It is the skeleton, or backbone, of your scripy: it holds everything together. p96
- A SEQUENCE is a series of events tied together, or connected, by one single idea. p96
- Once we establish the context of the sequence, we build it with content, or the specific details needed to create the sequence.
- A series of scenes tied together, or connected, by one single idea with a definite beginning, middle and end. p97
- A sequence is a whole, a unit, a block of dramatic action, complete within itself. p97
- Before you can begin writing your screenplay, you need to know four things: the opening, the plot point at the end of Act 1, the plot point at the end of Act II, and the ending. p98
- It should be noted that there are no specific number of sequences in a screenplay. p98
- You have as many or as few sequences as you want. There’s no rule about the number you need. All you need to know is the idea behind the sequence, the context; and in order to create a series of scenes, the content. p98
9. The Plot Point
- The hardest thing about writing is knowing what to write. p114
- That’s why the paradigm is so important–it gives you direction. p114
- The PLOT POINT is an incident, or event, that “hooks” into the action and spins it around into another direction. The plot points at the end of Acts I and II hold the paradigm in place. p115
- Direction, remember, is a line of development. p116
- When you are writing your screenplay, the plot points become signposts, holding the story together and moving it forward. p122
- Rocky selected to fight Apollo Creed 25 minutes into the film; Rocky is “ready” to fight 88 minutes in. The rest of the movie is the fight. p127
- When you see a movie, determine the ploy points. See whether the paradigm works or not. p127
10. The Scene
- The scene is the single most important element in your screenplay. It is where something happens–where something specific happens. It is a specific unit of action–and the place you tell your story. p132
- The purpose of the scene is to move the story forward. p132
- Two things are in every scene–PLACE and TIME. p133
- Each scene requires a change in CAMERA position. p134
- The scene is where it all happens–where you tell your story in moving pictures. p135
- A scene is constructed in terms of beginning, middle and end, just like a screenplay. Or, it can be presented in part, a portion of the whole like showing only the end of a scene. p135
- Every scene reveals at least one element of necessary story information to reader or audience. Very rarely does it provide more. The information the audience receives is the nucleus, or purpose, of the scene. p135
- Generally, there are two kinds of scenes: one, where something happens visually… The other is a dialogue scene between one more more persons. Most scenes combine the two. p135
- If you write a dialogue scene between two people, try to keep it under three pages. p135
- The flashback is a technique used to expand the audience’s comprehension of story, characters and situation. p136
- What happens in the scene? What is the purpose of the scene? Why is it there? How does it move the story forward? What happens? p136
- First, find the components or elements within the scene. What aspects of your character’s professional life, personal life, or private life is going to be revealed? p136
- When you’re writing a scene, look for a way that dramatizes the scene “against the grain.” p137
- Comedy works by creating a situation, then letting people act and react to the situation and each other. p139
- When you set out to write a scene, find the purpose of the scene, then root it in place and time. Then find the elements or components within the scene to build it and make it work. p140
- Every scene, like a sequence, an act, or and entire screenplay, has a definite beginning, middle and end. But you only needto show part of the scene. p141
- Very rarely is a scene depicted in its entirety. p141
11. Building the Screenplay
- …we’ve discussed the four basic elements needed to write a screenplay–ending, beginning, plot point at the end of Act I, plot point at the end of Act II. Those are the four things you need to know before you put one word on paper. p157
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| ACT 1 |
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| beginning | | middle | | end |
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| the setup | | Plot Point 1 |
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| ACT 2 |
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| beginning | | middle | | end |
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+---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+
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| confrontation | | Plot Point 2 |
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| ACT 3 |
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| beginning | | middle | | end |
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+---------------+ +---------------+ +---------------+
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| resolution |
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- The essence of character is action; your character must act, not react. p161
- Action is doing something, reacting is having it happen. p162
12. Writing the Screenplay
13. Screenplay Form
- A shot is what the CAMERA sees. p182
SCREENPLAY TERMS
- angle on (the subject of the shot): a person, place or thing
- favoring (subject of the shot): also a person, place or thing
- another angle: a variation of shot
- wider angle: a change of focus in a scene
- new angle: another variation on a shot, ofent used to “break up the page” for a more “cinematic look”
- pov: a person’s point of view, how something looks to him
- reverse angle: a change in perspective, usually the opposite of the POV shot
- over the shoulder shot: often used for POV and reverse angle shots. Usually the back of a character’s head is in the foreground of the frame and what he is looking at is in the background of the frame. The frame is the boundary line of that the camera sees–sometimes referred to as the “frame line.”
- moving shot: focuses on the movement of a shot
- close shot: used sparingly, for emphasis
- insert (of something): a close shot of “something”–either a photograph, newspaper story, headline, face of a clock, watch, or telephone number is “inserted” into the scene.